Bart, Jean

Bart, Jean (zhäN bär) [key], 1650–1702, French naval hero, b. Dunkirk. Of a seafaring family, he enlisted in the Dutch navy but entered French service as a privateer at the outbreak of the Dutch War (1672). In 1686 he was commissioned a navy captain. As a reward for his spectacular exploits, particularly in the War of the Grand Alliance, he was ennobled (1694) and made a rear admiral (1696) by King Louis XIV.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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